The family of a pharmaceutical company executive, who died at the age of 44 following a liposuction procedure in 2013, was awarded damages of about $5.6 million by the High Court yesterday.
Surgeon Edward Foo Chee Boon, who was sued by the family of Madam Mandy Yeong Soek Mun, was ordered to pay the damages after the court found that he was negligent in performing the procedure at his TCS at Central Clinic.
In a written judgment, Justice Choo Han Teck said: "Dr Foo, who may well be a competent general surgeon, was not adequately trained to perform the liposuction and fat transfer procedures.
"Unfortunately, Dr Foo believed himself capable and thus did not manage this case as a competent surgeon in this field should have done."
The judge also said that Dr Foo's delay in sending for an ambulance after Madam Yeong collapsed at his clinic was an act of negligence.
Dr Foo initially blamed the doctors at Singapore General Hospital's (SGH) accident and emergency department for failing to resuscitate her, but dropped his case against them midway through the trial.
On June 28, 2013, Madam Yeong underwent a procedure at the TCS at Central Clinic to remove fat from her abdominal flanks, followed by a fat transfer to smooth the unevenness in her thighs.
It was her third liposuction procedure at the clinic.
After a two-hour operation, she developed complications and was taken to SGH, where she died 21/2 hours later from pulmonary fat embolism, in which blood flow is blocked by fat particles.
In 2016, her family, represented by Senior Counsel Kuah Boon Theng, sued Dr Foo.
They alleged Dr Foo was negligent in his failure to tell her about the risks in performing the procedure, and in his post-operative care. He denied the allegations.
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Second botched liposuction death
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The death of Madam Mandy Yeong due to pulmonary fat embolism was the second fatality in Singapore arising from a negligent liposuction procedure.
In December 2009, Mr Franklin Heng, chief executive of YTL Starhill Global Reit Management, died after he was given too much anaesthesia during a liposuction procedure.
Mr Heng, who was 44 at the time, suffocated when his airway collapsed because of the heavy sedation.
Estate trustees sued the two doctors and the clinic responsible on behalf of his family. In May 2015, his family was awarded $5.3 million by Justice Choo Han Teck.
The sum included $3.88 million to make up for the loss of inheritance his dependants suffered. In September 2016, the Court of Appeal reduced the payout from $5.3 million to $3.2 million.
In November 2018, a Court of Three Judges ordered one doctor, Wong Meng Hang, to be struck off the register, and the other, Zhu Xiu Chun, to be suspended for 18 months. The court also called for the duo to be investigated for possible criminal offences.
In January this year, Wong was charged with causing Mr Heng's death through a rash act, while Zhu was charged with abetting him.
Justice Choo said Dr Foo had not adequately drawn Madam Yeong's attention to the risk of fat embolism. But the judge inferred from the evidence that she would probably have gone ahead nonetheless.
Turning to the procedure itself, Justice Choo said: "All things considered, it was more likely than not that Dr Foo had inadvertently punctured a blood vessel as he was injecting the fat into Mandy Yeong's thigh."
As for the events after the procedure, the judge noted that after Madam Yeong's oxygen saturation level fell, "the picture that emerges is that of total mayhem and confusion".
Dr Foo said he spent about 45 minutes trying to diagnose the cause of the drop before the ambulance was called.
Justice Choo said there was no reason why Dr Foo could not have called for an ambulance while simultaneously diagnosing the problem.
In the suit, Madam Yeong's family said they lost a substantial source of financial support. Her income of $420,000 a year as head of regional market development at Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific was three times her husband's.
Justice Choo's award included $1.7 million for the dependency claims of her husband, 55, her two sons, who were 17 and 13 when she died, and her elderly parents.
He also awarded $3.8 million for loss of inheritance, based on Madam Yeong's projected income and stock options, which is the wealth she would have accumulated had she not died.
